Tieback apparatus

ABSTRACT

Tieback apparatus for anchoring a lift tower beside and to a multistory building during construction of the building. The apparatus includes a vertical post mounted in an upright position at one side of the tower, the post providing a vertical axis and having a portion horizontally opposite a floor of the building. An elongated horizontal tieback member is fastened at one end to a floor of the building and has the other end thereof adjacent the post. The latter end of the tieback member is coupled by clamp means to the post, the clamp means being releasable to permit vertical adjustment of the tieback member along the post. The clamp means is also angularly adjustable to permit variation in the angle of the tieback member relative to the building. A post, tieback and clamp may be provided on the side of the tower facing the building, or on the opposite side of the tower, or on both sides of the tower, the latter construction being preferred. Where there are twin towers beside a building, both towers are anchored with tiebacks releasably clamped to posts, and the angular tiebacks may cross each other between the towers.

United States Patent [1 1 Nell [ TIEBACK APPARATUS Inventor: William C. Nell, Hollywood, Fla.

[73] Assignee: C.M.I-I., Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

[22] Filed: Apr. 3, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 240,611

52 U.S. c1 52/651, 182/82, 182/14 [51] Int. Cl. E04g 3/04 [58] Field of Search 182/229, 82, 100,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,906,551 9/1959 May 287/l89.36 C X 2,893,786 7/1959 Faye 182/229 X 3,302,749 2/1967 Heaphy et a1 3,082,843 3/1963 Leonard 1,853,086 4/1932 Scannell 52/638 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 1,434,360 10/1969 Germany 182/229 Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-Carl D. Friedman Attorney-John H. Oltman et a1.

[ Oct. 9, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT Tieback apparatus for anchoring a lift tower beside and to a multistory building during construction of the building. The apparatus includes a vertical post mounted in an upright position at one side of the tower, the post providing a vertical axis and having a portion horizontally opposite a floor of the building. An elongated horizontal tieback member is fastened at one end to a floor of the building and has the other end thereof adjacent the post. The latter end of the tieback member is coupled by clamp means to the post, the clamp means being releasable to permit vertical adjustment of the tieback member along the post. The clamp means is also angularly adjustable to permit variation in the angle of the tieback member relative to the building. A post, tieback and clamp may be provided on the side of the tower facing the building, or on the opposite side of the tower, or on both sides of the tower, the latter construction being preferred. Where there are twin towers beside a building, both towers are anchored with tiebacks releasably clamped to posts, and the angular tiebacks may cross each other between the towers.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures TIEBACK APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In constructing multistory buildings, a lift tower or hoist tower is often built along side the building while the building is being constructed, and the tower has a lift or elevator by which personnel and material are hoisted to various levels of the building. Such towers are usually not completely self-supporting; they must be anchored to the adjoining side of the building to prevent them from swaying, twisting or otherwise shifting. Structural members called tiebacks, which are often long angle members, have been bolted at one end to the tower and at the other end to the building for anchoring the tower to the building. The tower ordinarily has frames at discrete levels thereof, and the tieback members are anchored to the frames. However, if there is no frame at the level of a floor of the building, considerable difficulty is encountered in running a tieback from the tower to the building.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a vertical post is mounted in an upright position at one side of the tower opposite a floor of the building, and a tieback member is coupled to the post by releasable clamping means. The other end of the tieback member is fastened to a floor of the building. By releasing the clamping means, the clamping means and the tieback member can be adjusted vertically along the post to position the tieback member horizontally at exactly the level of the floor of the building, so that no difficulty is encountered in fastening the tieback to the floor of the building. The tieback member can also be adjusted angularly to set it at any desired angle relative to the adjoining wall of the building. When the clamp is tight on the post, the tieback member firmly anchors the tower to the side of the building. In a preferred embodiment, at least one tieback member is provided on the side of the tower facing the building, and another tieback member extends angularly from the opposite side of the tower to the building. Sometimes, two towers are provided side by side with access to one tower limited, and, in this event, crossing tie-backs may be arranged between the towers.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide improved tieback apparatus for anchoring a lift tower to a building.

Another object of the invention is to provide tieback apparatus in which tieback members are adjustably clamped to posts on a tower.

A further object of the invention is to accommodate vertical and angular adjustment of the tieback member relative to the post.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clamp coupling a tieback member to a post which clamp is releasable and slidable axially of the post for permitting vertical adjustment of the tieback member.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cylindrical post with a U-clamp which is both angularly and vertically adjustable relative to the post.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

ON THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of a multistory building and a lift tower anchored to the building with tieback apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the tower showing posts on two sides of the tower and portions of tieback members releasably clamped to the posts;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a pair of posts on the outside of the tower with a portion of a tieback member releasably clamped to one of the posts;

FIG. 4 is a plan view, partly in section, taken along line 4l4l of FIG. 1 and looking down in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of releasable clamping means included in the apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of a tieback member where it is bolted to the building as viewed along line 66 of FIG. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, but showing an alternate arrangement of tieback members; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing how a tieback member may be bolted to a portion of the building with a riser between the floor of the building and the tieback member.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS The tieback apparatus of the invention anchors a lift tower 10 to a multistory building 12. The tower 10 has a lift 14 which the construction personnel use to hoist themselves and construction tools and materials while they are constructing the building. The tower 10 is located close alongside one wall 16 of the building, and it is as high as the building itself. The tower Ill) is not completely self-supporting; it would have a tendency to sway and twist if it were not anchored firmly to the building. It may be seen that the tower includes vertical poles which are braced at regularly spaced intervals by frame members 20 and angle braces 22. Furthermore, it may be seen that the frame members 20 are not necessarily located directly horizontally opposite the floors of the building such as floors 24 and 26.

Sometimes, tieback members have been attached to framing members such as the frames 20 and then connected to the building to anchor the tower to the building. However, when the framing members are not level with the closest floor of the building, it is a difficult and time consuming process to connect tieback members both to the frames and to the building. Construction labor is expensive, and the time and effort required to anchor the building with tieback members in this manner can become costly. Furthermore, the building may not be properly anchored if the tieback members must be bent or otherwise distorted in order to accomplish the anchoring.

The tieback apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a vertical post such as post 28 mounted on the tower opposite a floor 24 of the building, an elongated horizontal tieback member having one end 32 thereof fastened to the floor 24 as with bolts 34, and a clamp 36 releasably coupling the other end of the tieback member 30 to the post. The clamp 36 is releasable to permit vertical adjustment of the tieback member along the post 28 so that the tieback member 30 may be positioned in a horizontal position in the plane of the floor 24 and still be connected directly to the post 28. The clamp 36 also permits angular adjustment of the tieback member so that the tieback member can be pivoted relative to the post 28 which represents a vertical axis, and then anchored to the floor 24 at the desired angle relative to the wall of the building.

In the preferred embodiment, the tieback apparatus includes the post 28 which is mounted on the side of the tower 10 which faces away from the building 12, another vertical post 38 mounted on the same side of the tower, and still another vertical post 40 mounted on the side of the tower which faces directly toward the building 10. Another tieback member 42 is coupled to the post 40 by a clamp 44 identical to the clamp 36. Ordinarily, the tieback member 42 is positioned so as to be perpendicular to the wall 16 of the building, and the inner end 46 of this tieback member is fastened to the building as with bolts 48. Optionally, a tieback brace 50 may be bolted at one end 52 to the tieback member 42 and at the other end 54 bolted to the floor 24. The member 50 merely provides additional bracing to prevent the tower from twisting or swaying. It may be seen that members 30 and 50 are parallel to each other and are both at an acute angle relative to the wall 16, whereas member 42 is perpendicular to the wall 16. It is believed that this arrangement provides optimum bracing for the tower.

In FIGS. 1 and 4, the post 38 has no tieback member connected to it, because the members 30 and 42 connected respectively to posts 28 and 40 provide sufficient anchoring and bracing. The post 38 makes it possible to extend a tieback member to the side of the tower opposite member 30 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, tieback member 42 remains the same, and it is coupled to the inner post 40. The outer posts 28 and 38 are still mounted on the outside of the tower 10'. It may be noted that the lift 14' is on the opposite side of the tower as compared to FIG. 1. The tieback member 30 is connected to post 38 by the clamp 36' and is bolted at 34 to the floor 24. The brace 50' is bolted at 52' and 54, and brace 50' extends substantially parallel to tieback member 30'. Thus, the tieback apparatus of the invention allows tieback members to be placed on either side of a tower.

It may be seen that by superimposing the tieback systems of FIGS. 4 and 7, it is possible to accommodate twin towers located rather close together side by side. That is, the tower 10 of FIG. 4 might be located close alongside the tower 10 of FIG. 7. In this case, the tieback members 30 and 30' can cross each other in the space between the towers. One of these tieback members must be slightly higher than the other, so provisions must be made for anchoring this higher tieback member to the floor without bending the tieback member. This can be accomplished in the manner shown in FIG. 8 where a spacer or riser is provided between the tieback member 30' and floor 24, and the bolt 34' extends through members 30' and 60 into an anchor 61 in the concrete floor 24.

In FIG. 6, a tieback member 30 is shown fastened to the floor 24 with a through bolt 34.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the manner in which the posts 28, 38 and 40 are mounted on the tower in the preferred embodiment. Posts 28 and 38 are welded at their upper ends to a bracket 62 in the form of an angle member. Bracket 62 is fastened with bolts 64 (FIG. 2) to one of the framing members 20. The lower ends of posts 28 and 38 are similarly welded to another bracket 66 which is fastened with bolts 68 to a lower framing member 20. Post 40 is welded at its upper and lower ends to brackets 70 and 72 which are fastened with bolts 74 and 76 to upper and lower framing members 20. All of the posts 28, 38 and 40 are vertical. The posts 28 and 38 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the spacing between poles 18 of the tower. This allows the tieback member 30 to be positioned almost perpendicular to the wall 16 if desired without hitting one of the poles l8.

Clamps 36 and 44 are identical, and will be described with reference to FIG. 5 where clamp 36 is shown in detail. Clamp 36 has a base block 78 which is welded at its back side to the adjoining end of tieback member 30. The block is generally rectangular, but has a semicylindrical recess 80 on its front side which is provided with ribs or teeth 82. Bolt holes 84 and 86 extend through the block 78. Two U-bolts 88 and 90 are provided, and the straight ends of these bolts are adapted to extend through the bolt holes 84 and 86. Nuts fasten onto the threads 92 and 94 at the back side of the block In clamping the tieback member 30 to the posts 28, for example, the recess 80 is placed against the post 28, and the threaded ends 92 and 94 of the U-bolts 88 and 90 are pushed through the holes 84 and 86. The U-bolts 88 and 90 thus embrace the posts 28. The nuts such as 96 are placed on the threads 92 and 94 to tighten the clamp.

The clamp 36 is releasable by unscrewing the nuts 96 partially off the threads of bolts 88 and 90. When the clamp is thus released, it can be slid vertically along the post 28 and also pivoted angularly around the post 28. This allows vertical and angular adjustment of the tieback member 30 as explained previously. It is contemplated that other forms of clamp means may be designed which will serve the same purpose.

It is believed that the simplest form of tieback members are angle members, but variations are possible. Forexample, the tieback members may be elongated by placing two angle members in overlapping positions and bolting them together such as at the bolting points 34 in FIG. 4. Although the tieback member 50 is shown as an angle member, a portion of one of its flanges may be cut away so that it can be fastened on either side of the tieback member 42. It may be seen in FIG. 1 that the tieback members 30, 42 and 50 together with the corresponding posts and clamps are duplicated at the level of floor 26 of the building 12.

Thus, the invention provides tieback apparatus which allows rapid adjustment of the vertical and angular positions of the tieback members. This in turn saves labor and time when the tieback members are being employed to anchor a tower to a multistory building in the manner described above. It has been found that the time required for erection and anchoring of a tower can be reduced significantly by employing the tieback apparatus of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with a lift tower for use at a building site, which tower has: at least two laterally spaced, inner vertical poles at its inner end; at least two outer vertical poles at its outer end which are spaced laterally from each other and outward from saidinner poles away from the building being constructed; and substantially horizontal frame members which respectively interconnect the two outer poles and interconnect the two inner poles and interconnect the outer and inner poles at one side of the tower, at vertically spaced locations along the height of the tower; a tieback apparatus comprising:

an elongated vertical post, and upper and lower rigid brackets releasably attaching said post to respective vertically spaced frame members of the lift tower at one of said ends of the tower, said brackets positioning said post laterally offset from the poles at that end of the tower;

an elongated horizontal tieback member extending from said post inward beyond the tower for connection to the floor of the building being constructed;

and a releasable clamp on the outer end of said horizontal tieback member embracing said post and, when loosensed thereon, being pivotally adjustable about the post and slidable vertically along the post to any desired elevation corresponding to the height of the building floor to which said horizontal tieback member is to be connected.

2. A tieback apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising a second vertical post attached to said brackets and offset laterally from said first-mentioned post by more than the spacing between the poles at that end of the tower, said brackets positioning said posts laterally offset beyond the poles at each side of the tower.

3. A tieback apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said brackets are attached to vertically spaced frame members at the outer end of the tower.

4. A tieback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said post is located laterally between the inner poles at the inner end of the tower, and said brackets are attached to vertically spaced frame members at the inner end of the tower.

* =l= It t 

1. In combination with a lift tower for use at a building site, which tower has: at least two laterally spaced, inner vertical poles at its inner end; at least two outer vertical poles at its outer end which are spaced laterally from each other and outward from said inner poles away from the building being constructed; and substantially horizontal frame members which respectively interconnect the two outer poles and interconnect the two inner poles and interconnect the outer and inner poles at one side of the tower, at vertically spaced locations along the height of the tower; a tieback apparatus comprising: an elongated vertical post, and upper and lower rigid brackets releasably attaching said post to respective vertically spaced frame members of the lift tower at one of said ends of the tower, said brackets positioning said post laterally offset from the poles at that end of the tower; an elongated horizontal tieback member extending from said post inward beyond the tower for connection to the floor of the building being constructed; and a releasable clamp on the outer end of said horizontal tieback member embracing said post and, when loosened thereon, being pivotally adjustable about the post and slidable vertically along the post to any desired elevation corresponding to the height of the building floor to which said horizontal tieback member is to be connected.
 2. A tieback apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising a second vertical post attached to said brackets and offset laterally from said first-mentioned post by more than the spacing between the poles at that end of the tower, said brackets positioning said posts laterally offset beyond the poles at each side of the tower.
 3. A tieback apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said brackets are attached to vertically spaced frame members at the outer end of the tower.
 4. A tieback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said post is located laterally between the inner poles at the inner end of the tower, and said brackets are attached to vertically spaced frame members at the inner end of the tower. 